Kashmir Mosques to Address Addiction, Suicide and Environment in Friday Sermons

Religious scholars in Jammu and Kashmir have decided to widen the scope of the mosque pulpit, moving beyond matters of faith to address pressing social concerns such as drug addiction, suicide and self-harm, and environmental degradation.

The decision emerged from a meeting of clerics drawn from across the Shia-Sunni divide in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, held under the banner of the Muttahida Majlis Ulema (MMU) and chaired by the Valley's chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

Speaking about the initiative, Mirwaiz said the rising incidence of self-harm and emotional distress among young people, alongside the steady deterioration of the environment, could no longer be treated as matters for the government alone or for occasional seminars. He said these challenges demand a sustained social response, and that the mosque and the mimbar (pulpit) possess a unique reach and influence in society, giving the ulema a responsibility to use that platform constructively.

He acknowledged that the pulpit cannot replace doctors or counsellors, but said it can educate and mobilise society towards positive action. Under the plan, designated Fridays will see a common social issue taken up across mosques to build awareness, encourage families to recognise problems early, reduce the stigma around counselling and professional help, and remind people of their responsibility towards their surroundings.

The scholars agreed to transform mosques and madrasas into community welfare centres. In an official release, the MMU said these institutions must increasingly become centres of guidance, counselling, youth engagement, family support and community welfare, alongside their primary religious and educational responsibilities. Their proximity to people's homes, the release noted, gives them the ability to identify problems early and help families seek appropriate support.

The clerics observed that the pulpit can play a preventive and supportive role by creating safe spaces where young people and families can speak without inhibition about emotional distress, loneliness, anxiety and family pressures, free from the fear of stigma.

As part of the outreach, the religious scholars plan to travel to different parts of the region to interact with and sensitise local religious leaders, and to understand local concerns so that a practical response suited to each area can be developed.

While expressing serious concern over drug addiction, the scholars said the campaign against the menace cannot achieve the desired results if new liquor licences continue to be issued and alcohol is promoted or expanded in the name of tourism. Such contradictory policies, they said, undermine efforts to protect young people from addiction. They called upon the government to reconsider its approach and to stop further promotion and expansion of alcohol availability.